Real-time streaming & on-demand streaming

Bit streaming

Number, text, audio, video are all represented in binary form on computer. They are all represented by a bunch of 0s and 1s. Each 0 or 1 is called a bit. When there is a need to transmit the information over internet, the 0s and 1s are transmitted continuously over a communication path in a contiguous way, which is referred to as serial transmission. By serial, it means the bits are transmitted one by one.

Real-time streaming

Real time streaming is a technique of broadcasting the media content of something when it is happening, such as a sports event. It is also called live streaming. The event is captured live with a video camera and is delivered to the end users. The event is not recorded and stored on storage device, so it can not be paused or rewound.

On-demand streamin

On-demand streaming is another category of streaming media. In this case, the media is recorded and stored on storage devices, usually on a media server. Users can download it then watch or listen to it. Users can also watch or listen to it online. In the later case, the content is streamed when it is watched or listened to. In both cases, the media playing can be paused and rewound because the media is stored. So, one-demand streaming means the user is watching something happened in the past, not right now.